Driving all the way to Ocklawaha to hunt snipe is cause enough for admission here

Normally, I loathe, hate, despise writing about unsuccessful hunts. Who cares, right? Anyone can not shoot things, I always say. But Ocklawaha has been intriguing to me. For starters, snipe hunting is great fun, and this place offers limited entry snipe hunts each summer. I have drawn this tag for a number of years, but some combo of children, work, and/or apathy has kept me from driving the 2-1/2 hours from Lakeland. I’ve always felt guilty about taking up a tag that someone else can use, but it’s hard to plan a snipe hunt in August.

Then again, if they’ve been so easy to draw each year maybe the hunting sucks. Or people just don’t know or care. Matt and I saw one other truck out there. For certain, there’s almost zero information online about this hunt outside the crickets on various forums when folks who’ve drawn these tags ask about the hunting. This post will make me the foremost Internet authority on snipe hunting at Ocklawaha Prairie PSGA.

And in my expert opinion, I still know nothing – thanks for reading.

There’s no way to explain why my hunt was a turd without committing a fundamental attribution error. Maybe I didn’t hunt the right spots or hunt hard enough. Wait, scratch that “maybe” for “hunt hard enough.” A great portion of the property was simply overgrown and difficult to access without a machete. I didn’t bring waders to reach other areas that appeared promising. It just wasn’t a place that fell in line with my history of snipe hunting, so I got discouraged quickly.

Furthermore, it was late in the season. Maybe the snipe had been shot out. They’ve had hunts here since November. Perhaps they had winged north already, though that was difficult to believe since 49/50 states were frozen over at the time making it tough-feeding for these mud-probing birds. Heck, maybe this place just doesn’t bring in snipe, and these permits were simply gratuitous offerings to give hunters access without much thought on whether it’s worth it. We didn’t see much wildlife on the place except two hen turkeys and a jogger/escapee from the The Refuge. And a ton of robins that were tempting but illegal. Definitely didn’t see any ducks or many waterbirds. Plenty o’gators, though.

OMG! A Gator! In Florida! Of all things!

So, a lot of “whys” and no “blams!”

Again, it’s entirely likely I’m completely off-kilter. Maybe in mid-December the timing is better or I need to put in more effort. I will tell you the joint is well-suited for hunter accessibility. A levee runs half the area. The NW and SE corners are about worthless for snipe, and there is a no-hunting zone where the boardwalk is – probably to tame down the aforementioned shooting/PTSD conundrum. The rest of it is wide-open and the height of the levee gives you a good look at the layout of the land. If you can fight your way out to the Ocklawaha River that runs the property or closer to the lake, you may find some snipe – but you’ll be working for it. Maybe bring a boat or canoe to launch and work from the water towards the shore. Just writing that makes a lot of sense in hindsight.

In all fairness, we did see a couple birds. One snipe popped up while we walked down the boardwalk after the hunt just trying to gauge more of the land. The other bird I think was a woodcock as it was a bigger critter and flushed out of thick willow.

It is a pretty piece of land which could comfortably house several other rehab centers, but unless you live close by it’s probably not worth the ride. Snipe hunting really isn’t all that tough in most other situations.

If you do get a wild hair, however, I wouldn’t discourage it – especially because after the hunt you can swing into nearby Gator Joe’s for a fried seafood basket and cold draft. Definitely a refuge for me after a hunt like that.

About This Blog

Ian Nance is a lifelong resident of Central Florida with a passion for hunting and just about anything related. Associate Member of the Florida Outdoor Writers Association. Check back weekly for hunting stories, news, tips, and wild game recipes. Feel free to leave comments or e-mail topics you would like to see addressed here. Contact at inance880@aol.com or follow on Twitter @good_hunt